


It All Comes Crashing Down

by Rose711



Category: Big Brother RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2015-11-04
Packaged: 2018-04-30 01:53:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5145890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose711/pseuds/Rose711
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The fans find out about Zach's relationship with Bruna and he has to tell Frankie. After some comforting words from Ari, Zach gains the strength to do something he has wanted to do for a while and is drawn back to Frankie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It All Comes Crashing Down

**Author's Note:**

> This came out of a suggestions from a friend. It kind of got away from me...I also used this as an opportunity to try to wrap my head around this entire situation, but I just got more confused.

Zach pressed the button to call Frankie as he shuffled into Bruna’s bedroom. He closed the door but could still hear her and her roommates arguing. He knew he was a main part of the argument, and he felt bad, but there were more important things for him to worry about right now.

He flopped onto the bed and put his arm over his eyes as he sighed loudly listening to the phone ring. He really needed Frankie to pick up; he couldn’t let him find out what happened through Twitter.

“Hello, my love,” Frankie answered excitedly.

“Hi, babe,” he said flatly, though a little hint of relief poked through.

“Are you okay? It’s kind of late there,” Frankie asked, sensing that something was wrong through Zach’s tone. Frankie was in LA with Ariana and his mom getting ready for the launch of Ariana’s new single and music video.

Zach looked at the clock and saw that it was past 12:30.

“I need to tell you something,” Zach admitted quickly as he squeezed his eyes shut.

Zach and Frankie had talked about their relationship and their relationship with other people before. At length. Multiple times. They basically agreed that they had an open relationship, which wasn’t ideal but it was mostly due to Frankie’s schedule. They had also agreed that they would be completely open and honest with each other about everything, especially about hookups.

Frankie knew that Zach was seeing/sleeping with/using Bruna. But that didn’t mean he wanted the rest of the world to know, and Zach knew that, which is why he was so nervous for this call.

“Everyone knows about Bruna,” Zach spat out.

“What? How?” Frankie stammered.

Zach was silent.

“What happened, Zach?” Frankie said with some anger.

“She took my phone and started a YouNow broadcast. I didn’t know she was going to do that, I swear,” Zach said trying to make sense of the situation.

“She’s always taking your phone, Zach, it really shouldn’t be that big of a surprise.” Frankie was angry. He was not expecting to have to deal with this tonight.

“I know, I just never thought she would go live. I figured she’d stick with snaps that I could easily delete,” Zach said guiltily.

“Well, she’s an attention-grabbing bitch, what did you expect?!”

“Frankie! Come on! That was uncalled for,” Zach exclaimed loudly. He wasn’t happy with the situation either, but that didn’t mean there should be name calling.

“I’m sorry,” Frankie said sincerely before exhaling loudly. “So what happened during this broadcast?”

Zach recounted the night for Frankie, telling him everything he told his fans almost verbatim - when he could remember the lies he told.

“So…you told them that you dated but she’s not your girlfriend now but then she said she pretty much considers you her boyfriend?” Frankie was beyond confused.

“Yeah, I think. There were so many things happening at once and it was confusing. For everyone,” Zach admitted. “I don’t know how to clean up this mess.”

“Maybe it’s time you stop hanging out with her. Tell the fans that you are just friends and you were putting on a show the entire time,” Frankie suggested.

“I like hanging out with her and I don’t want to lie to the fans anymore than I already do, so I’m not telling them we’re just friends,” Zach said confidently.

“Wait. Are you saying that you’re actually dating her now?” Frankie said slowly, hoping he was misinterpreting what Zach had said.

“Maybe? I don’t know,” Zach said as he sat up on the bed.

“You’re not happy with her,” Frankie nearly whispered.

“My parents are happy when I’m with her. And I’m not not happy,” Zach quietly answered, shocked that he admitted that.

“Alright, Zach,” Frankie snorted in mock laughter.

“Come on. She’s fun to hang out with and it’s not serious, you know that. If hanging out with her makes my parents happy and me not miserable then I’m all for it,” Zach confessed.

“You can’t live like that! This is ridiculous. This is all ridiculous,” Frankie exclaimed in anger. They had talked about the parent thing in the past and it always made Frankie furious.

“What are you so mad about? We’ve talked about this and you knew about all of this. You’re seeing other guys, and I’m seeing Bruna. There’s no difference,” Zach said with no concern in his voice.

“This is all public now, don’t you realize that?” Frankie shouted.

“Yes! That’s why I called to tell you as soon as it happened, so you wouldn’t hear about it on Twitter!” Zach was getting frustrated.

“But it being public makes it real,” Frankie said sadly, though the anger was still present.

“Are we not real then? Because we’re not public?” Zach yelled.

“I don’t know!” Frankie admitted without meaning to.

“Seriously?! Two hours ago we were fine, but now we’re not, all because I told the fans that I am kind of seeing someone? Even though they had suspicions and everyone knows you’re sleeping with other guys?”

“Just go and be with your girlfriend, or whatever she is. Go be with her. My guess is that you’re on her bed now anyways, so you won’t have far to go,” Frankie spat out before ending the call abruptly.

Zach punched the bed in rage and fell back. He knew Frankie would be angry that everyone knew about the relationship, but he didn’t think he would be that angry.

There was a knock on the door and Zach quickly got up. He flung open the door and rushed past Bruna as he wiped away tears on his way to the bathroom.

_______________

Frankie slammed his phone into his bed and huffed in frustration and anger. When he replayed the conversation back in his head, tears sprang to his eyes and he couldn’t stop them from falling. He curled up into himself and started bawling, feeling both sadness and extreme anger.

“Frankie?” Frankie bolted up to see Ariana standing in his doorway, forgetting that he never shut the door. “What’s wrong?” Ariana asked with great concern as she sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed Frankie’s back.

“He introduced his ‘girlfriend’ to all of his fans tonight,” Frankie snapped.

“What?!” Ariana shouted as she stood up angrily. “He has a girlfriend? What the hell? Why didn’t I know this? Did you know this?”

“I knew this, and she’s not his girlfriend, per se,” Frankie started as Ariana sat back down on the bed. He then told her about Bruna and the broadcast that blew everything up.

“I didn't want things to be like this. Things weren't supposed to be like this,” Frankie admitted, getting down to the cause of his anger. “I wish that we could be public. It would be so much easier since we barely get to see each other as it is.”

“You know he loves you. And you guys are in such a unique relationship, which takes a lot of hard work. And remember, it took you six years to come out,” Ariana reasoned trying to calm Frankie down.

“I know. It’s just that he’s trapped and I don’t know how to get him out,” Frankie said. “His parents dismiss his happiness and it kills me.”

“From what you’ve told me, I think Zach’s parents would surprise us if he were to tell them he was bisexual,” Ariana said as Frankie looked on confused. “I’m not sure their attitude and actions toward him are based on his sexuality.”

“Maybe. I do think he should tell them,” Frankie said. “I also don’t think he realizes that there are so many other people who support him.”

“He’ll always have me,” Ariana said with a smile as she hugged Frankie. “Fate brought you two together and I know you are soulmates.”

Frankie couldn’t help but smile at Ariana’s positivity, and deep down he knew she was right.

“Let’s watch a movie,” Frankie said as he got up to go into the living room.

_______

After the movie finished, Ariana padded down to her room and climbed into bed. But she couldn’t fall asleep; she couldn’t get the conversation about Zach and his “girlfriend” out of her head. She had seen Zach and Frankie together and she felt at the time that they were meant to be together. She meant what she told Frankie earlier: she felt as if they were destined to be together.

Despite all her willpower, she pulled out her phone and did a quick google search. She knew Zach had a big following and she was sure that something about this girl and him would be online. She stumbled onto some twitter feeds and tumblr pages that were discussing the girl and everything that had transpired and everything she already knew. Ariana was about to close the tabs and go to sleep when something caught her eye. It was a photo of Zach and the girl next to a photo of Zach and Frankie. A smile spread across her face when she saw how genuinely happy Zach – and Frankie – looked in the photo. She started clicking on links and looking at old photos and videos of the two men. It wasn’t long before she had tears in her eyes. Zach's smile and the look in his eyes when he's thinking about or watching her brother told her everything she needed to know. She locked her phone, put it on the bedside table and went to sleep.

__________

Zach woke up around 7 the next morning and immediately remembered everything that had happened the night before. He groaned and slid out of bed, being careful not to wake Bruna. He grabbed his things and exited the apartment in one fell swoop. He didn’t even stop to use the bathroom.

He climbed into his car and thought about his next move. He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw his gym bag. That will work, he thought. The gym was the perfect place to get out some of his annoyance and anger. And he could use the shower. It was a win-win.

While he was at the gym he got a message from Erik asking him if he was still coming down to Miami. Zach groaned and weighed his options. He could drive to Miami and hang with Erik, he could go home to where both of his parents would be on their day off or he could go back to Bruna’s. Miami seemed to be the lesser of three evils so he texted Erik that he would be there in a couple of hours.

________

Zach pulled into Erik’s apartment building and was about to get out when his phone buzzed. He rolled his eyes assuming it was his mother. He was shocked to see that it was Ariana.

 _Ariana_ : Hi, love {heart emoji}

Zach stared at the message confused. He was sure that Frankie told her about everything that had transpired the night before, and he wouldn’t be surprised if some “fans” even tweeted her about it.

 _Zach_ : Hi?

 _Ariana:_ I talked to Frankie. I know what happened with you guys and I know about your girlfriend.

 _Zach_ : She’s not my girlfriend, Ari. Really.

 _Ariana_ : I do know that. I also know that you love my brother. But you’re hurting him, and I don’t like seeing him hurt.

 _Zach_ : Frankie and I have talked about this! We all know he’s not being celibate and I can sleep with some girl if I want!

 _Ariana_ : That’s not how you’re hurting him. I know you two have a weird relationship and agreement right now and if it works it works. But I’m not sure it’s working. And it has nothing to do with the girl.

 _Zach_ : Ari, Frankie and my relationship has to be this way. He is jetting off to different cities on a daily basis – literally. And even if he wasn’t, it would still be different because we would have to be secret.

Zach loved Ari as if she was his own sister, but he was starting to get frustrated. She knew all of this and he didn’t love talking about it.

 _Ariana_ : But your relationship could be better. Do you want my advice?

Zach sighed and didn’t respond. He knew she would give it to him even if he said he didn’t want it. He was right.

 _Ariana:_ Be you. Be your authentic self. I know you love Frankie, but you can only love him through the phone or when you are locked in a house together. Something needs to change. And I think the first step is to finally be honest and tell your parents.

Zach laughed. Ariana was crazy.

 _Zach:_ I can’t do that, you know that.

 _Ariana:_ You can do anything. You seem to have forgotten that.

 _Zach_ : They already know…

_Ariana_ : Yeah, but they need to hear it from you and you need to be open about it. Then maybe they will take it seriously and then you can be happy again. Because I don’t think you’re happy right now.

She was right, he knew that. But that didn’t mean he wanted to – or could – do it. He was about to text her back when there was a knock on his window. He looked up to see Erik.

“Hey, come on up,” Erik yelled through the glass. Zach grabbed his keys and shoved his phone into his pocket as he opened the door. “I came down to let these guys in,” Erik explained as he pointed to three guys who Zach vaguely recognized, “and I saw you sitting in your car.”

They were halfway to the apartment when Zach felt his phone buzz in his pocket as Erik introduced his three friends to Zach. He promptly forgot their names.

The three guys were talking about their plans for the day and what club to hit that night as Erik unlocked the door. Zach immediately went to the living room, sat down in an armchair and brought out his phone.  

_Ariana_ : Look, I’m not saying you should come out to the entire world, because I actually don’t think you should. Not yet. But your parents will love you. They will struggle, but they will come around. And as you said, they already know.

_Zach_ : It was different for your family. You were extremely supportive of Frankie and he had a community that he knew would love him no matter what.

_Ariana_ : You have a lot of support, too. I know some of your friends are…iffy, but I also know some of your friends are supportive, including the ones from the house.

_Ariana_ : And we’re here, Zach. Don’t ever forget that. You know that if you ever need anything Frankie would be at your side at the drop of a hat and I would be too. You have the support of our entire family: My mom, Nonna, Frankie’s dad, stepmom and brother. I promise.

Zach’s eyes started to sting from the tears that had pooled there while reading Ari’s messages. But he couldn’t shed even just one in the presence of Erik and his friends. He smiled as he took in her words, words he really needed to hear.

_Zach_ : Thank you. That means a lot, it really does.

_Ariana:_ You are not alone in this world or in this journey.

_Zach_ : {heart emoji} {kissy face emoji}

Zach felt stronger somehow, and he liked the feeling.

_Zach_ : I can’t wait to hear your new song, by the way. I know it’s going to be amazing!

Zach brought the phone down to his lap, looked up to the ceiling and smiled happily. He felt his hand vibrate and quickly brought his phone back up and continued texting.

“You’re smiling an awful lot over there,” Erik said teasingly. “Is that the new girl?”

“No. It’s Ariana,” Zach answered without thinking, freezing in place. He didn’t take his eyes off his phone.

“Grande?” Erik asked with a hint of mocking laughter in his voice.

Zach shot Erik a look that made him immediately regret asking a question he clearly knew the answer to.

“Wait,” one of Erik’s friends said. “You know Ariana Grande? And you have her cell phone number?!”

Zach just stared at them, showing no emotion.

“Dude! You really know her?! That’s so cool,” another one of Erik’s friends exclaimed.

“Wow. And isn’t she from around here originally?” the third guy asked. “You should totally date her!”

Erik’s friends were talking over each other due to their excitement and all Zach did was snort in annoyance as he kept texting.

After several more exclamations of how “cool” and “sexy” Ariana is, one of them asked, “So, how do you know her?”

“I’m sort of seeing her brother,” Zach deadpanned while trying to compose one last text to Ari. The room fell silent and Zach looked up, locking eyes with Erik who looked both shocked and amused. He didn’t mean to say that out loud, but at least it shut the idiots up.

Part of Zach wanted to run to the bathroom or lock himself in Erik’s bedroom. But then he glanced down at his phone and Ariana’s encouraging words and realized that he didn’t want to run and hide; he was too exhausted from doing that for the past year.

He put his phone in his lap and looked at Erik and the three other guys before turning his attention to the TV. SportsCenter was showing a highlight from the World Series, so Zach made some comment about it to break the silence and tension.

After joking and talking for a while, Erik suggested grabbing a late lunch at Chipotle and they all headed to the parking lot. However, before Zach got into his car, he called Erik over.

“Listen, man, I think I’m gonna go home.” Zach couldn’t get his mind off of the conversation he had with Ari and the strength she had given him.

“Dude, you just drove down here this morning!”

“I know, but I kind of want to talk to my parents about something,” Zach said with hesitation, his eyes not meeting Erik’s.

“Okay,” Erik replied assuredly. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”

Zach smiled weakly while staring at a point in the distance. Erik was a hard guy to figure out, and he could never tell when Erik would cross the imaginary – but important - line. He looked at Erik and saw genuine compassion.

“Thanks,” Zach said gratefully as he slapped Erik on the back and shouted goodbye to the other three guys.

He climbed in his car, took a deep breath and turned on the radio. He drove from Miami to home trying to compose a speech in his head. He knew he would have to be forceful; he had to be heard this time. However, he didn’t want to give his parents an ultimatum because he couldn’t live his life without his family. It was a fine line he would have to walk.

As he pulled up to his house a couple hours later, the butterflies arrived in his stomach. He walked up the front door and paused with his hand on the door knob. After taking a deep breath he opened the door and immediately saw his brother who greeted him with a huge smile.

“Mom and Dad are both home, right?” Zach asked Peyton, his voice shaking a bit from nerves.

“Yeah. Do you want to shoot some hoops?”

“In a couple. I want to talk to Mom and Dad about something, but you go out and I’ll meet you,” Zach replied as Peyton headed outside. Zach figured that it would be easier to speak to his parents and then have a separate conversation with Peyton. He also didn’t want Peyton to hear some of the things that may come out of his parents’ mouths.

Zach wandered into the kitchen and saw his parents laughing at something. He smiled before asking them if they could talk in the living room.

As the three of them sat down, his parents on the couch and Zach in a chair, Zach took a deep breath and stared at his clasped hands.

“I want to tell you guys something,” Zach started. He had decided on the ride back home that he would tell his parents that he was bisexual, he would explain what that really meant and he would tell them that he was indeed in love with Frankie but they were still figuring things out. He decided that he would pretty much leave it at that.

And that’s exactly what he did.

He spoke in one long sentence while staring at the floor. When he finally looked up, he saw his parents holding hands and tears in his father’s eyes.

He knew they basically already knew everything he told them, but he also knew that hearing it out loud, not through innuendos and snide remarks, was completely different. He was prepared to plead with them.

His mom stood up and walked over to Zach. When he stood she pulled him into a silent hug. Relief spread over Zach. She returned to the couch and they both sat down again.

Zach smiled softly and his parents asked a couple questions before announcing that they should start making dinner. He had to admit that he was pleasantly surprised. He knew his parents would struggle with it for a while, and there was definitely more things that he needed to tell them, but right now all he wanted was their support, and they said they would give it to him.

Zach walked out of his house to where his brother was playing basketball. He wrestled the ball away from Peyton and shot a basket. Peyton grabbed the rebound and dribbled around under the basket. Zach stared at him with a smile on his face. He was so proud of his little brother.

“What?! Stop staring!” Peyton yelled, jogging Zach from his thoughts.

“I want to talk to you about some stuff,” Zach said, taking a deep breath before giving Peyton the watered down speech he just gave his parents.

“Stop,” Peyton said abruptly after about thirty seconds, interrupting Zach’s train of thought. Concern washed over Zach’s face.

“I know you like boys and girls,” Peyton explained with no hint of disgust or fear or anything negative. “I also know you love Frankie. It’s cool.”

Peyton grabbed the basketball from Zach and shot a basket while Zach looked on amazed – and he felt ecstatic. He knew his brother was young but he also knew he wasn’t blind or deaf.

“Hey,” Peyton exclaimed as he passed the ball to Zach, hitting him square in the chest and catching him off guard. “Are we going to play or not?”

“Yeah, let’s go!” Zach said with a little hesitation.

“The fact that I like boys and girls doesn’t change anything,” Zach stammered a minute later, feeling as if he had to continue the conversation. He couldn’t get out of it that easy.

“I know. You’re still my brother. And if you move away to be with Frankie I can visit, right?”

Zach laughed at his brother’s optimism. “Of course, you can even have your own room.”

They played for several more minutes before heading inside. Zach headed straight to his room; he had one more person he needed to talk to.

When Zach got to his room, he closed the door, flopped on his bed and stared at the phone. He opened his contacts and gazed at Frankie’s face. His big eyes, his wide smile, the gap between his teeth. Everything about Frankie made Zach’s heart melt. He knew Frankie may not want to talk to him, but he needed to hear his voice, explain everything to him again and tell him about coming out to his parents. Zach giggled into his comforter. He couldn’t believe he actually came out to his parents as bisexual. He realized his heart felt lighter and he was happy. And the only person he wanted to talk to and tell was Frankie.

Zach pressed the button to FaceTime Frankie and he waited with bated breath hoping he would answer.

“Zach,” Frankie said flatly, answering at the last possible moment and not looking into the camera.

“Babe,” Zach said with a smile in his voice. Frankie huffed in return.

“Look at me, sweetheart,” Zach pleaded. After a moment of silence, Frankie’s eyes found Zach’s, which were gleaming with pride and pleasure.

“What are you so happy about?” Frankie asked with a tinge of annoyance and mockery in his voice.

Zach smiled widely and couldn’t help but giggle. “I came out to my parents and brother. And kind of to Erik and some of his friends.”

“What?!” Frankie exclaimed, sitting up straighter and giving Zach all of his attention.

“Well, it all began when your sister texted me this morning. Did you know that she’s amazing?”  

“I didn’t know she texted you,” Frankie said slowly as a smile spread across his face and the warmth Zach knew so well returned to his eyes.

Zach then emotionally recounted his afternoon, telling Frankie about his nerves but also his relief.

“I am so proud of you,” Frankie said with tears in his eyes after Zach finished talking.

“Thank you,” Zach said bashfully.

“I’m sorry I got so upset last night. You may have guessed that I also spoke to Ari, and as you now know, she is always the voice of reason,” Frankie laughed. “She helped me remember that we are in a unique situation and that any relationship worth having is hard work. And I believe our relationship is worth having.”

“I do too,” Zach said confidently.

“But our relationship is different: It’s open and it’s long distance. At least for the moment. And remembering that our relationship is different is difficult sometimes, especially when I see you with some girl.”

“Are you saying you get jealous?” Zach joked.

“Hey! You do too! Or is there another reason I receive suggestive snaps right after I post a photo with a hot guy?!”

They both laughed before locking eyes with each other.

“I love you,” Zach said sincerely.

“I love you, too,” Frankie assured him. “So...does this change anything?”

Zach’s heart started beating faster. “You are the only person I love and the only person I have ever loved and I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” he admitted.

“But that’s a no,” Frankie said sadly, but understandingly.

“I’m still not ready to go public, but if people know, they know,” Zach reasoned as Frankie nodded, agreeing. “My parents still have a ways to go, and I should probably talk to some other members of my family. At some point.” Zach sighed, nervous about those future conversations.

“But today was a good start, I think,” Zach continued.

“Today was a great start, babe.” Frankie paused while staring at the love of his life, who was 3,000 miles away. “We’ll get to where we want to be eventually.”

“Yeah,” Zach said somewhat dreamily. “I promise we will.”

“Oh, and Zach? We’re real, baby. Even if we aren’t public,” Frankie said through a smile as Zach’s eyes lit up with joy.

They talked for another hour. They talked about them and the need to fully communicate everything with each other. They talked about Ariana’s new single and video. They talked about each other’s recent auditions. They laughed at each other’s stories and vowed to make some of their own.

As they hung up, Zach couldn’t help but think about how outsiders would either see no change or a negative change in his and Frankie’s relationship. Yet Zach couldn’t help but feel as if the relationship was stronger than ever. He wished he could share his hope with the outsiders and he longed for the day when he could openly share his love for Frankie. And, he was starting to think, that day may not  be that far into the future.


End file.
